True, but it was implied that the firing order change was at least partially responsible for the power increase, and that's not the case. The firing order listed for the LS1 was also incorrect.

 

Have you guys heard the Corsa on a vette??!!


http://www.corsaperf.com/flashc5.htm

 

It's the firing order. I have 4/7 swap cams in my stuff and they don't sound like anything chevy used to make. My 355 doesn't have the lumpity lump idle either with this type camshaft. you can also tell when a chevy does this with open headers as you can hear a steady exhaust pulse...you know like a mustang

 

Yeah, for about 80,000 miles on my '97 with CORSA Touring exhaust.
That's one of the reasons I'm a fan of the exhaust system being the driving force for exhaust note.

nateh makes good points in his posts early on in this most interesting thread.

 

It's true, and thanks OldSS. Exhaust configuration is the biggest determining factor in system sound. There are other variables that can affect it, but the pipes and silencers are #1.

 

For you young people...a parity of a circa '70s brain tease:

If a Ford revs its engine in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it still sound like a Ford?

 

Or maybe its your ears. I'm not the only one that says it ...even in this post. It could be your ears.

I have heard SOME vettes that do, and some that don't , I can't explain why some do and some don't seem to, but i did not say all. And as I said some other things probably play a role also (exhaust type,etc) becasue i saw an ls1 corvette driving by, but before I heard it I thought it was a mustang. Who's to say if it's your ears or mine.

 

An actual HD dealer, Zooks, has potatopotatopotato.com as their website! There might be some dots or dashes missing in there. My hometown dealer, nice new place, but overpriced.

I think you guys are confusing several seperate things as one.

First issue- There are inherent differences to engine designs. I can usually tell a ford from a chevy from a dodge, but it's gotten harder in the last 10 years. The people talking about how different make dragsters sound different with zoomies (same exhaust) are totally right. It's the acoustics. Ever seen the same band play at a football stadium, and at a proper concert amphitheater? (sp?). Huge difference. Thus, the BANG! of combustion will sound different in a dodge wedge chamber or hemi or chevy or ford. Not to mention the exhaust port & head acoustics. So does ignition timing. Want to deepen the tone at idle? Retard the timing 10 degrees. Different makes want different ignition curves, adding to different sounds.

Second issue, you can then tune the engine's inherent sound. And if you tune each make differently, you can move toward a common sound. I think merging into a single pipe makes them more alike. To some, single exhaust with a flowmaster sounds like a 5.0 stang, regardless of the car it's on. Others think they hear an IROC when my single & flowmaster elcamino is coming, so the chevy sound be recognizable somehow.
I'm a foundry engineer, whoever is talking about metals reflecting sound different is right on the money. Even small changes in the alloy compostion can change it. (like nodular iron) Heat treat also has a huge impact. Everything from the piston, head, block, valve, and exhaust tubing play a role in what's coming out the tip.
Great thread! Later

 

I always thought the 351W's sounded more like a boat motor than the 302.

 

I have always thought that a small block ford has a much nicer tone than the SBC, the chevy's are too metallic sounding, the fords always have a nice deep rumble.

 

LOL - we joke about that stuff at the shop, when different cars are on the dyno we come up with the language for how the exhaust sounds.

390 FE ford - two tacos - two tacos - two tacos

 

thats odd, i helped a guy out who had a 302 in his boat. (it ran like crap)